A magazine like Time obviously has massive swaying powers in terms of mass consciousness. The article is apparently about Dr. Sears and Attachment Parenting, but instead of taking the opportunity to explain to the mainstream western world why Attachment Parenting and extended breastfeeding can be so beneficial to children and families, the choice of cover images gave extended breastfeeding an even worse name. They almost made it seem sexual, as opposed to nurturing, which is what the moms who choose to breastfeed for this amount of time believe it to be.

I think what bothers me more than anything is how it’s mothers who are now fighting about the topic. There seems to be a constant online battle about who’s right, who’s wrong, who’s choices are better than others. I then also read a post the other day which was about how pointless these mommy wars are (totally agreed), how energy should rather be spent protecting motherless children (totally agreed) but which also stated how unimportant the choices we make as parents are when it comes to breastfeeding, birthing, etc, etc. This also makes me sad. To me these decisions are so important, they shape us in terms of our belief systems, and how we want our children to view the world around us. Again, it doesn’t mean that if your choices are different to mine, you’re better than me, but it’s vital that we do understand the importance of these decisions, and that we take responsibility for our choices. Like Jamie-Lynne will have to, posing for a picture such as the one she did.

I’ve written about judgement before, and I reckon that this what all this in-fighting amongst mothers is about. While I don’t believe there’s any problem in discussing different points of view, it’s how we say the things we say that counts the most. And how we react to what others say, even if we disagree. I know the feeling all too well of having my “buttons pushed”, but then it’s up to me to look at what those buttons are, and why I’m having the negative reaction that I’m having, as opposed to wanting to hurt or punish the other person in return.

If we’re the kind of moms who can handle conflict, who can discuss varying points of view without losing our tempers, or taking things personally, our children will see this. They will feel it. And I believe that they will learn to handle these situations in the same way we do. The question is, what kind of mommy do you want to be? One who is constantly at war, judging others? Or one who is learning to love herself and others, in turn, creating peace?

The book has been written by a British raw food TV presenter, author, and chef, Shazzie. It’s all about giving mothers information and recipes, so that they can raise their children consciously on a diet of raw-plant-based nutrition. As Davide Wolfe (Raw Food Expert) says, “This is the best overall living-food-oriented nutrient and recipe guide I have seen for pregnant women, young mothers, infants, and young children.”

Shazzie also discusses other topics around raising children naturally in our western culture, things like natural birthing, breastfeeding, attachment parenting, etc. The book has 180 full colour recipes, and to me, sounds like every Natural Mamas dream come true!

If you’d like to read more about the book, see here, and if you’d like to go right ahead and buy one, go here.

PS. Thank you, Cands and Robs, for putting me onto it  xxx

Ingredients for Korma Sauce (Serves 6 Adults):

8 Tomatoes

1 Red Onion

2cm Piece Ginger

3 Cloves Garlic

1/2 tsp Turmeric

2 tsp Curry Powder

1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnaom

1 tsp Himalayan Rock Salt

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Dried Peaches

1/4 Cup Sundried Tomatoes, sliced

1/2 Cup Dried Figs/Pitted Dates

1/2 Cup Coconut Milk

1/2 Cup Cashew Nuts

1/2 Cup Macadamia Nuts

Garnish with Coriander, Yellow and Red Pepper

Directions for Korma Sauce:

Blend all the ingredients together in a power blender.

Serve on a bed of turnip rice and finely sliced spinach (or a salad).

Ingredients for Turnip Rice (Serves 6 Adults):

3 – 5 Turnips (or white sweet potatoes, celeriac root or parsnips)

1/4 Cup Macadamia Nuts or Pinenuts

1 TBSP Olive Oil

2 TBSP Lemon Juice

1/2 Tsp Himalayan Rock Salt

Directions for Turnip Rice:

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until a rice-like consistency is reached.

And that’s it! Simple as ever, super tasty, and as healthy as it gets. Enjoy :)

The answer they came up with is to produce and sell bottles which are made from 100% 18/8 stainless steel. These bottles are  non-leaching, and are BPA , Pthalate, Lead and Toxin free.  Not only that, there’s also the “lightweight , unbreakable nature of stainless steel and the ergonomic design and retro styling”.  Even more, Green.Kid is endorsed by Cansa, and a percentage of all proceeds is donated to this foundation :)

If you’re interested in founding out more about these bottles, and the business, take a look here.

Here are the specific poses which can be a threat to your embryo.

Parivritta Trikonasana and Parivritta Parshvakonasana ( see how I’m twisting towards my front leg)

Marichyasana (see how I’m twisting towards my lifted leg)

Ardha Matsyendrasana (again, I’m twisting towards my lifted leg)

Dhanurasana and Urdhva Dhanurasana (backends are a definite no-no!)

Urdhva Prasarita Padasana (puts too much pressure on pelvic floor)

Pashchimottanasana (compresses the fetus)

Ok, so those are ones to avoid, according to Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood. Next week, I’ll start with the poses you can follow during the first trimester.

Have a fabulous weekend, Natural Mamas, and really hope that you enjoy your Mothers Day with your families.

PS. Teacher Roberta, if you’re reading this post, you can crit my postures in our next class. Although, I can already see what I need to still work on :)

But then going back to getting space, what I’m also finding is that besides purely putting in extra effort, since Lily’s started going to school, I’ve had a natural urge to deepen the connection, to want to spend more time with her, QUALITY time with her.

I was chatting to another Mama about it the other day who was saying that by going back to work, the same happened for her. In getting a little breathing room, some of us Moms are then able to love more, give more, be better Moms. Again, I have an incredible surge of guilt as I write this. Guilt that I need space from my child, but it’s a real experience, and I hope that in talking about it, I’m able to help some of you who feel the same.

See, what I’ve figured, is that a huge part of being a Mom involves lots of “chores”. Cooking meals, making sure the children eat, changing nappies, helping a toddler learn to use the toilet, cleaning up the mess after children, bathing children, putting them to bed, etc, etc, etc. And then for those of us who also work, sometimes it can feel like that’s all we do: chores and work. So, while we obviously love our children with all our hearts, we can also (on some level) feel a small amount of resentment or frustration for not having the time we used to; for not being able to do all the other things we want to; or for not being able to focus on our other tasks, like work, as fully as we’d like to.

In Lily going to school, it’s given me two FULL mornings to get my stuff done. Guilt-free too, because I know she’s having the time of her life. I’m able to focus fully, do what I need to do and do what I want to do. It’s bliss. And then I miss her so much that I just can’t wait to spend time with her when she’s home and awake from her nap.

I do know that I brought a lot of my sense of being overwhelmed by the “chores” of being a Mom on myself because I hadn’t asked for enough help either. If I’d organised for her to play at friends or family more often, or asked Graeme for more help at bathtime and mealtime, instead of always trying to be Super Mom, I wouldn’t have got to the point of feeling the way I did. Lesson learned.

So, to those Moms who are feeling a bit disconnected from their children, or who are wanting to just deepen their connection, I urge you to look at yourselves and to ask how fulfilled you’re feeling within yourself, how much quality time you have with yourself and how often you’re able to focus on your own tasks. Because if they answer is “none” or “never”, the chances are that you’re feeling overwhelmed, or resentful, and that’s why you’re disconnecting. The answer is to ask for help and to get some much-needed space. You’ll see, it makes all the difference in the world :)

Matt, Lila and I have adopted the raw lifestyle and it has been the most special and oh-so-very-raw journey. Matt lost 9 kilo’s in 6 weeks without trying to (we  had been eating chocolate brownie, ice-cream, cake, etc at 11ish at night) and Lila’s hair and nails grew radically 2 weeks into it.  Matt and I also noticed after a few weeks that we almost felt “high”; we just felt so amazing and so connected to everything, especially to one another.

Everyone noticed the difference in us and all commented on our skin glowing and eyes sparkling. Personally i have never felt so healthy, light and grounded. I feel so in touch with my body and have such clarity.  And the most important part of this whole jouney for me is the depth of the connection that I now have with Lila. It is stronger than ever before because I’m so much more present. We actually can’t believe how powerful and quickly the shift took place just because of food.

What’s also been fascinating is that we’ve gone to a couple of weddings where we decided to have a couple of glasses of bubbles, which in the past made us feel awesome and chilled out, but instead it just didn’t resonate with us anymore, we just wanted to be sober. Then the next day we felt so horrible that we needed coffee to wake us up, but then we felt even more horrible and hungover, so we needed cooked food to ground and comfort us. And then the next day, we felt even worse, so we needed coffee again, and before we knew it, we needed alcohol to relax us because we felt so ungrounded.

Peter, from Superfoods, explained to us that when we eat a lot of cooked, and processed foods, we have acidic bodies, which is what makes us feel unrelaxed. Alcohol is one of the ways to help relax your body because of it being acidic. One of the main focuses on being raw, is to alkalise the body which then in turn relaxes the body, and so there’s no need to depend on other relaxing substances. And that’s exactly what we experienced.  In drinking booze, coffee and eating a bit of cooked food again, we realised why we needed all of it in the first place. It was so interesting how terrible we felt in comparison to how we had been feeling when eating raw.

Why I also mentioned its been a very raw journey is because literally everything becomes raw, like your emotions, thoughts and feelings, because there’s no more suppressing with things like comfort food, coffee or alcohol. So, a whole lot of healing has taken place in our house.  It has truly changed our lives and so far is working for us amazingly.

Before going raw, I was vegan but Matt still ate meat, and had no desire to become a vegan. But after watching the Rawlicious Dvd’s (highly recommended), we decided to go 100% raw the very next day. It just made all the sense in the world, and we haven’t looked back. You don’t need to go 100% raw to experience such health and vitality, though. To feel the benefits, you just need to introduce as much live and raw food into your diet as possible.  Oh, and the best thing is that everything is guilt free! Eating chocolate late at night is just so exciting when you know you’re just adding even more healthy stuff into your body :)

 Just remember to start sprouting your chickpeas a couple of days before you want the salad (ideally you should have sprouts permanently on the go), and if you want to add nuts to it like I did, you’ll need to start soaking these a couple of hours before.

Ingredients (Serves 6):

5 Cups Sprouted Chickpeas

1 TBSP Tamari

4 TBSP Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Fresh Coriander, finely chopped

3/4 Cup Sundried Tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 TBSP Lemon Juice

2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped

Himalayan Rock Salt to taste

2 Avocados, cubed

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients except for the avocado. When ready to sdish up, top with the cubed avocado and serve with a green salad. Simple as that! Enjoy :)

PS. I added raw almonds into mine. All salads can be played with; add as many different raw ingredients as you like :)

The handle is made from bamboo, and the bristles from a polymer that is resistant to microbial growth. This means that no harmful chemicals have been used to make the brushes, and that when you’re done with them, you can just add them to your compost heap :)

There’s a child’s size with soft bristles, and the adults’ ones have an option for soft and medium bristles. I will say that at first it was a strange sensation to feel the bamboo brushing up against my tongue whilst brushing, but now I’m totally used to it. I think you should give them a try too :)

Ok, so what I’ve read is that the most important aspects about conception are that you are relaxed, healthy and that your hormones are balanced. Asanas are a great way to work towards these three things, particularly if you regularly practice restorative poses. Here are a few basic postures which, according to Geeta S. Iyengar (daughter of BKS Iyengar and author of  Yoga a Gem for Women), can help with fertility and conception.

Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclined Bound Angle Pose)

Dandasana (Staff Pose)

Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose)

Janu Sirsasana (Head-to-Knee Forward Bend)

Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend)

Upavistha Konasana (Wide Angle Pose)

Malasana (Garland Pose)

Then, the following three are also recommended by Geeta S. Iyengar, although they are slightly more complicated and should only be practiced at home by experienced yogis. Otherwise, your best bet is to practice them with a teacher.

Salamba Sirsasana (Supported Headstand)

Salamba Sarvangasana (Supported Shoulderstand)

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Supported Bridge Pose)

Lastly, it is recommended that after doing the deed (the making-babies-deed, that is) you should do Viparita Karani, otherwise known as the Legs-up-the-wall pose.

PS. I was intending on doing the poses myself, but my camera seems to be playing up, and so I’ve used images I found online for this week. Thank you so much, Yoga Journal.

PPS. If you intend on doing these postures at home, please, please follow each link to Yoga Journal’s full explanations on how to do them correctly and safely. Thanks again, Yoga Journal.